When Diners At
10 InGear
APRIL 6, 2008 . THE SUNDAY TIMES
THE SUNDAY TIMES . APRIL 6, 2008
InGear 11
GIZMO
GIZMO
DON
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gear@sunday-times.co.uk TECHNOLOGY NEWS
PANIC
NIGEL POWELL ANSWERS
YOUR TECH-RELATED QUERIES
one in 20 vintage bottles stored in
private cellars is fake. Counterfeiters
SKATE EXPECTATIONS
either refill old bottles with cheap wine
QCan you recommend a
website where a
Leaving the
and sell them as genuine, or they
novice can learn about
EA7 Skorpion Armani Urban skates £220
reproduce vintage labels using desktop
audio file editing?
www.emporioarmani.com
publishing.
John Neal via e-mail
020 7491 8080
David Molyneux-Berry, a wine
detective, looked into one single
vintage — a Chateau La Fleur Pomerol
Strap-on skates have shed their
1947. The owner of the vineyard told
roller-disco image and reinvented
AMy favourite audio editing
software is Audacity (free
wine cheats
him that a shortage of magnum bottles
at audacity.sourceforge.net)
themselves as an “urban mobility
that year meant only five were made.
and there are many useful
solution”. The EA7s attach to your
And yet, he said: “One auction house
online guides for this that also
street shoes, as did their
sold eight bottles of La Fleur 1947 in
serve as general primers to
one auction alone. And 18 bottles have
predecessors, but similarities end
been sold over the last three years.”
audio editing, such as the one
there. The “most stable skate in the
Some producers already use coded
at tinyurl.com/22quvw.
world” (according to Skorpion) is made
labels and engraved bottles to deter
As an alternative, U-Myx
high and dry
from polyamide resins for strength and flexibility, and has
counterfeiters, but even this isn’t
(www.u-myx.com) enables
four-spring suspension to soak up the bumps. The EA7s are
foolproof: the American billionaire
novices to mess around with
William Koch is suing wine dealers
available in two sizes from Emporio Armani shops.
music tracks online and then
over a $100,000 (£50,000) bottle of
1787 Branne-Mouton. His reason? He
share the results with
Chip technology is helping wine lovers to
thinks President Thomas Jefferson’s
friends.
initials, which are on it, have been
MIGHTY MOUSE
SHOCK AND GORE
detect whether bottles of their favourite
applied using modern power tools.
There is no guarantee that even
vintage are fake, writes Mark Harris
Asus EeePC 900 laptop
Mindwire V5 shocking games controller
genuine wines are drinkable; if they
QWhenever I use my
laptop I am warned
£300 www.asus.com/uk
£100
are exposed to high temperatures
“You have company”,
01442 202 700
during transportation, for instance,
www.mindwire-v5.com
followed by a twanging
they will spoil, and you won’t know
guitar noise. Am I at
unique to the individual bottle that is
until you uncork them. So in addition
The EeePC range of budget laptops launched last
Add a jolt of
risk?
repeated on a tamperproof neck seal.
to the bottle tag, the Eprovenance
year by Asus has proved highly popular. Now there
reality to
Freda Neale, Dorset
By typing the code in at Eprovenance’s
system positions another RFID tag
is an updated version with a clever mouse trackpad
Whendinersat
Zafferano, a
Michelin-starred
computer-game
London restaurant,
website (www.eprovenance.com), you
inside the wine case, to monitor and
that allows you to resize photos or scroll through
ordered an £18,000
can confirm not only that a wine is
record temperatures. When this chip is
shoot ’em ups
bottle of 1961 Pétrus wine last month,
authentic, but also the manner in
subsequently scanned by a wine
pages by simply sliding two fingers across the pad
with this
ADon’t be alarmed; this is a
function of the AOL
an unmarked cork raised suspicions
which it has been treated and stored
merchant or auction house, it is
— although this only works with applications that
electric-shock
Instant Messenger (AIM)
that it was a fake, and they sent it
since being bottled.
immediately known if the wine has
support this function. The laptop’s 8.9in screen has
controller.
service that is telling you one
back. The restaurant called in
This type of drinks digitisation is
been damaged in transit.
a higher resolution than its predecessor and the
Masochists who
of your friends has come
specialist wine detectives to investigate
spreading fast. An Italian manufacturer
“We put all our effort into making
onboard storage has been
need a physical
the possible scam, but their findings
has designed the Smartcorq, an
the best possible wine,” says Corinne
online. It’s rather like the
expanded to
were inconclusive.
artificial cork that carries details of a
Mentzelopoulos, owner of the famous
incentive to
famous “You’ve got mail”
Now, new technology looks set to
wine’s variety, bottling date and
Chateau Margaux vineyard. “But then
12GB —
improve their joypad skills can attach the
audio message from AOL
take the guesswork out of wine tasting.
alcohol content. And pub owners
it leaves the chateau and we cannot be
4GB of
Mindwire’s self-adhesive pads to their arms or
e-mail.
Eprovenance, a small American
worried about drinks being served
certain it’s handled correctly. I’d like to
integrated
legs and “enjoy” mild electric shocks when they
To end these alerts, set
technology company, has developed
under the counter might have their eye
ensure our customers get to enjoy it.”
The chips
memory and
lose a life or roll their digital racing car. The
your status to “away” in AIM
electronic tags to fit to fine wines as
on the Barvision gadget from an
The new system is undergoing trials
identify a wine
an 8GB
they leave the producers.
American company called Nuvo
with nine Bordeaux chateaux, including
system uses proven technology usually found in
options — or turn off your
A radio frequency identification
Technologies. It is an RFID optic that
and can also
several prestigious first-growth
memory card.
electric muscle-toning devices and works with
speakers.
(RFID) chip similar to those found in
measures exactly how much alcohol is
reveal whether it
vineyards. As for the diners at
The EeePc 900
PCs and most consoles (including the PlayStation
the newest Wave and Pay credit cards
poured into each cocktail.
Zafferano, having rejected one bottle,
has been stored
goes on UK sale
3 and Xbox), but only with games that support
dontpanic@
and Transport for London’s Oyster
Little gives the drinks industry more
they promptly ordered another: a
at a harmful
this month.
vibrations or force-feedback.
sunday-times.co.uk
cards, is attached to the base of the
of a hangover than counterfeit wines,
magnum of Mouton Rothschild 1945
bottle. This holds an encrypted code
and some experts estimate that about
temperature
for the discount price of £20,000.
Photolibrary.com
GAM
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HH So-so
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The odd style of Everybody’s Golf has been
score, but let a column overflow and you are
known to put off serious golfers, but beneath
knocked out of commission for a time.
the cute-looking surface, this series has
The courses are constructed from your
always played an excellent game.
MP3 music collection. Audiosurf transforms
It’s accessible enough to hook beginners,
the notes or beats of your chosen song into
yet it boasts enough depth to maintain a
a track, along with the blocks, turns and
long-term challenge. Whether you are tackling
psychedelic scenery. How the game plays
a tough links course in Okinawa or the tricky
and looks depends on the soundtrack you
Everybody’s Golf: World Tour HHHHH
dog legs of the Highlands course, fun is
Audiosurf HHHHI
choose. Surf something frenetic from, say,
PS3 £40. Age 3+
guaranteed. What’s more, the game now
PC £5. Age 3+
Radiohead and it’s a challenging workout of
includes superb online options such as
frantic lane switches and rapid pace
After successful rounds played on the PS2
challenging real players in a virtual clubhouse,
Audiosurf, which is only available as a
changes. Pick an ambient Goldfrapp song
and PSP, this quirky cartoon-style golf game
and signing up for eight-player matches or
download from www.audio-surf.com, is a
and the course will be much more relaxed.
tees off on the PS3. You can play as any one
massive online tournaments. The HD graphics
music-based game with a difference. The
The game, which won the audience award
of a cast of preppy teens, would-be cowboys
look great and serious attention to detail has
aim is to race a sleek craft over undulating,
at this year’s Independent Games Festival,
and French strumpets, and you have to take
been lavished on the courses. Hardened golf
neon tracks, collecting coloured blocks, while
can be surprisingly intense, and you are
on various computer-controlled challengers in
veterans may prefer the more realistic Tiger
avoiding grey blocks (it’s more interesting
ranked online for each song you surf against
golfing head-to-heads to give your character
Woods series, but for sheer playability, give
than it sounds). Connect three coloured
other players worldwide. Audiosurf is simple
new skills or to unlock helpful accessories.
this game a swing. Stuart Andrews
blocks and they disappear, adding to your
but a tough habit to break. Stuart Andrews
